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Catty Comments: Cats may be fickle with friendships

PALM CITY — Cats love to keep us guessing! Their behavior seems puzzling at times, but at Caring Fields Felines in Palm City, our resident felines provide ongoing opportunities to learn and understand what makes these fascinating creatures tick.

Cats form bonds at certain times during their lives, only to part ways as they age, or, even when their living arrangements change. For example, a pair of cats at CFF’s old sanctuary appeared to be friends for life. People often remarked about what wonderful buddies these two cats were. They spent their days together playing, napping or grooming one another. When CFF relocated to our new sanctuary property, the cats were once again placed together in a large cage-free enclosure. Much to everyone’s surprise, the two pals suddenly lost all interest in one another! These supposed BFFs were no longer speaking. We’ll never know exactly why, but staff and volunteers speculated that when the cats’ physical surroundings changed, and new cats added to their living area, the altered surroundings changed the dynamic between the two cats.

The bond between sibling kittens may also change over time. Whereas kittens benefit from remaining together as youngsters, there is no guarantee that they will remain friends once they become adults. The mere fact that the cats are siblings does not automatically create a lifelong bond between the two.

The bond between a cat and his human can be particularly strong and meaningful. In fact, some owners may even feel that their interactions with their cat are not all that different from their interactions with other humans! Although this assertion may raise some eyebrows, a study conducted in Vienna concluded that this may, in fact, be the case. A team of researchers found that the patterns of interaction between cats and humans often resembled the complex relationships between humans. (“Studying the Bond Between a Cat and Its Human” by Sarah Zielinski, Smithsonian.com). So, when you feel that your cat understands you better than some people do, you may be right!

Whether the bond of friendship exists between a cat and another cat, or a cat and a human, cats are clearly complex creatures with preferences and opinions that change throughout their lives. Perhaps this accounts, in part, for man’s fascination with this perplexing species!